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Last weekend's final round of the Australian GT Championship was a success for Nathan Antunes. He goes on to recall the highlights for us at Beechwood Homes;
Antunes writes "After luck going against us in race one with a puncture in the tyre befor

The Beechwood Homes McLaren 650s GT3 was in action in Perth last weekend for Round 3 of the Australian GT Championship.
Nathan Antunes kicked off Race 1 on Saturday after qualifying in 8th position and quickly gained a couple of positions in the r

The team at Beechwood Homes have really outdone themselves raising funds for the Leukaemia Foundation during this year’s World’s Greatest Shave which has them currently placed in 6th position on the Top Fundraising Teams National Leaderboard.
The ev

Image shown above is the laundry in Beechwood Homes' Seacrest design, on display at Housing World Shell Cove.
One of the most important things to think about when designing any practical room such as a laundry or kitchen is the roles of

When starting out on a new build project, it is important to ask the right questions. But as a new-comer to the world of home building, what are the right questions?
The key components that often trip up a new build seem to be similar regardless of

Image shown above is the award winning Asquith 36 design, on display at Housing World Shell Cove.
Earlier this year, Beechwood Homes were awarded Best Exhibition/Project Home between $250,000-$300,000 at the 2015 Master Builders’ Associa

One of the most asked about topics that often comes up when starting the planning process with Beechwood Homes’ is “What is the difference between a Development Application (DA) and a Complying Development Certificate (CDC)?
It is important to

Fresh from their appearance in the A-League grand final, Sydney FC will be back in action in the coming days taking on English Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at ANZ Stadium.

First up, the Sky Blues meet rising superstar Harry Kane and his Spurs. Sydney then take on newly crowned Premier League champions Chelsea, one of the most star studded football teams in the world. In a further highlight, Didier Drogba will be playing his last ever game for Chelsea.

Sydney FC Graham Arnold is looking forward to his team having an opportunity to test themselves against some of the best in the world.

The Knights head to New Zealand this Sunday to take on the Warriors in Round 12 of the NRL premiership.

Despite winning their opening four matches of the season, the Knights have now slumped to a 5 win and 6 loss record after a disappointing loss at Hunter Stadium on Monday night against a depleted Brisbane Broncos outfit. The Knights had a commanding 18-6 lead, but went to sleep near half time letting in 3 tries and eventually lost 31-18. Kade Snowden, Tariq Sims, Jack Stockwell and Aku Uate were the best for the Knights.

Newcastle will be hoping to repeat their round 1 win against the Warriors and to get their season back on track.

The Skwirk/Beechwood Racing Team finished 11th at the Phillip Island 101 held last weekend.

The team qualified in 5th position for the race, but an electrical issue shortly after the start of the 3 hour race saw the team drop 2 laps behind the leaders and near the tail of the 35 car field. Some inspired driving from Nathan Antunes and Rod Salmon saw the team climb to 11th at the chequered flag.

Nathan now sits in 4th place in the Australian GT Championship heading into the next round at the Townsville street circuit on 10-12 July.

Sydney FC travel to Melbourne this weekend to take on bitter rivals Melbourne Victory in the 2015 Grand Final of the Hyundai A-League.

The Sky Blues qualified after a dominant 4-1 victory against Adelaide United last Saturday night. Bernie Ibini opened the scoring for Sydney. Captain Alex Brosque then netted goals either side of half time including an exquisite back heal. Adelaide reduced the margin to 2 goals, but after some anxious moments, Christopher Naumoff sealed the victory to the delight of the home fans.

As well as winning the Grand Final, the Sky Blues will be looking to score more goals to increase Beechwood’s donation to Sydney FC’s charity partners, beyondblue and Football United. Since Beechwood announced the donation 6 matches ago, Sydney have defeated Wellington 3-nil and 2-1, defeated Perth 3-nil, defeated Newcastle 4-3 and avenged an unlucky 1-nil loss to Adelaide by winning 4-1 last weekend. That’s 16 goals in 6 matches and $12,000 each for our great charity partners so far.

We wish everyone involved with the club all the best on Sunday afternoon.

In addition to the block’s physical characteristics, there are several other factors to consider, including:

Neighbourhood – When buying a home, people are frequently looking to spend between the next 10 to 40 years of their life at that address. You need to ask yourself, is this where I want to live? As they say in the great Australian movie, The Castle – consider the vibe and how’s the serenity? Some suburbs feel right and some others don’t. Trust your instincts. You should also take into account how far away the block is away from your current address. Consider whether you and your children will become estranged by distance from your current friends and relatives or are you moving only a few kilometres away. You should always consider potential re-sale value in the future.

Nearby facilities – You should also consider nearby schools, local shops and regional shopping centres, doctors and hospitals, recreation, swimming centres, entertainment and transport. Questions to ask include will the kids be changing schools, is it further to get to work, will I get to work using the same method of transport, where can I buy milk and bread? Sounds simple, but many people make a giant leap without thinking through first. If looking to build in new estates, check out what facilities will be coming soon. Also imagine what that suburb will look like in 5 years and whether you would still be looking to live there.

What lies below – The soil conditions below your block of land play a huge part in what home design you will be able to build and its cost. As a general rule of thumb, it is very expensive to excavate in rock. However, light and sandy soils often require reinforcement and extra costs can often be incurred due to extra piering to the foundations of the house. Additional excavation and tipping costs may be incurred in removing certain thick clays from your block (as these are often not stable to build on). It might then be necessary to import suitable soil to maintain proposed levels at additional cost. Worse still, you need to know whether your block has been exposed to soil contamination or has artefacts that will prevent construction, or is subject to ground water.

Block Services – You need to consider where connections to services (such as water, sewer, electricity, phone) are located. Some could be located on your block and be easements (which can restrict what can be built over and adjacent to them), while others may be located on the other side of the street, which could lead to additional connection costs.

Conditions and fine print – When buying a block of land, you should obtain the advice of a solicitor or licenced conveyancer. Indeed, you should seek their advice before committing to buy. A good solicitor or conveyancer should be able to tell you about the zoning of your proposed block, any restrictions on what you can do and where and what you can build, developer requirements, such as certain driveways, fencing, landscaping requirements. A solicitor or conveyancer should check the Certificate of Title for the land as well as indicate people from Council or other relevant bodies and authorities you need to talk with to make sure that you can do what you want. The person selling you the block of land may not tell you about any problems, but they are often forced to disclose certain information in the fine print.

Bushfire requirements – Given many new estates are located near or adjacent to bush land, you need to consider any additional requirements that may be imposed on your proposed home due to this. It is necessary to determine a ‘Bushfire Attack Level’ for new homes near bush land. As a general rule, the closer your home is to bush land, the greater the chance that additional requirements will be imposed on the type of construction to your home. These can include having to use certain materials that are more capable of withstanding fire. The problem is, these can be very expensive as well as not necessarily be the look that you are after.

Unregistered land – Many developers of new estates are selling blocks of land that are not registered (as they still need to be subdivided etc). You are not allowed to build until the land is registered. There are also often delays with planning requirements (ie Council approvals) until the land is registered. Whilst this normally eventually happens, if you buy the wrong block, you could be forced to wait up to 18 months before you can start construction. You may have to pay extra rent during this waiting period.

Talk to a builder first. Whilst it is exciting to go off and buy a block of land, you do not have to do it alone and nor should you. Speak with a reputable home builder (like Beechwood Homes!) about the block you are considering buying. Because of our many years experience, we can often point out some of the potential pitfalls in a certain block or estate before you have made any commitment. Remember, buying a block of land and building a home upon it is likely to be the largest financial investment you will make in your lifetime. Ask questions, research, double check and trust your instincts. It might sound attractive that a developer is offering a $10,000 discount on a block of land, but if your extra site costs, BASIX and bushfire requirements significantly exceed this (and can often do so), you might not be getting the bargain you thought you were.

Here at Beechwood Homes, we are often asked, how do I choose a good block of land?

The difficulty with answering this question is that it is very subjective and there is normally no right or wrong answer. However, there are several block characteristics to look out for. These include:

Block Size – Unfortunately, the blocks of land becoming available in new estates are frequently becoming smaller. You need to consider whether your proposed home will physically fit on the block. You also need to take into account things like Council setbacks and other restrictions such as Floor Space Ratio, which is the is the ratio of the floor area of a building to its site area. You should also consider whether you will have any backyard, and possibly room for a pool. The days of the quarter acre block are long gone. Many people are deciding to buy blocks of land in established suburbs and opting for a knock down rebuild on an existing run down dwelling instead of moving into a new housing estate. Beechwood Homes can accomodate for both new housing developments and knock down rebuild projects. Size really does matter.

Block Shape – Many people look to pick up the largest block when new land releases, but rarely consider the shape or orientation of that block. Regular rectangle blocks are often the best, but depending on your tastes, a large battle axe block might be great or could be a dud. You should have a proposed home design in mind before buying your block of land. Some odd shaped blocks might give you extra room for a pool with the right home design or that space may be wasted as it can’t be put to any productive use. You should also consider ongoing maintenance of your block.

Block Slope – The slope of your block is important. Consider the front to back slope (or vice versa) as well as any slope from side to side. On a sloping site, unless you choose a split level design, you are going to have a level building platform and you will need to ‘cut and fill’ around it. You may need retaining walls, which are an added expense. As a general rule, steeply sloping sites are much more expensive to build on as your builder will charge ‘site costs’ to accommodate for various irregularities. You will also need to consider matters such as driveway gradients, that is the slope of your driveway from your garage to the street. Also consider where other houses will be positioned relative to yours. Will your neighbours be looking over your fence because their building platform will be much higher.

Block Orientation – Your block’s exposure to sun and rain will affect if and how your proposed design can be placed on your proposed block. New homes must comply with BASIX requirements, which relate to energy efficiency and water efficiency. Various BASIX requirements are imposed to reduce your energy use through specific design strategies for lighting, heating, cooling, and ventilation. It is a lot more complicated than rain water tanks and roof solar panels. Buying a block of land with the wrong orientation could mean that you will be unable to build your dream home.

BEECHWOOD HOMES is thrilled to announce three new display homes will be built, in Orange and are scheduled to open later on this year. The new display homes will show case Beechwood’s current range of innovative designs, which focus on comfort, luxury and affordability.

These display homes will showcase the very latest in architectural style.

“Beechwood has countless designs and styles to choose from, all of which can be tailored and customised to suit your family’s unique needs,” explains Scott Hanley, Beechwood’s Central West Manager. “Whether you’re building on an existing block, or purchasing one of our home and land packages, a Beechwood home will always be built to maximise space, giving you options for flexible living.”

For more information, contact local man Scott Hanley from the Central West Business Centre on (02) 6361 1046

Despite a dominant display and having 16 shots on goal to 4, Sydney FC have lost 1-nil to Adelaide United at a rainy Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.

Adelaide goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic was the best player on ground as he turned away wave after wave of Sky Blues attack. He then set up Adelaide’s late winner with a deft kick.

Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold, who is usually grumpy after a loss, was very happy with the Sky Blues performance and philosophical after the match saying “Things happen for a reason, at this moment we don’t know what that reason is, but it will make us a much stronger team and it’s character building. The players are obviously down, but I can’t complain, their performance was excellent, they gave everything they had and Eugene Galekovic had the game of his life".

The Sky Blues missed an opportunity to move to the top of the table and travel to Perth this Friday night to face the Glory and hopefully overtake them on the ladder.

Beechwood Homes is proud to announce that for every goal Sydney FC score for the remainder of the A-League season, Beechwood Homes will make a donation of $1,500 to be split between two of Sydney FC’s charity partners, beyondblue and Football United.

The tally currently stands at $4,500 following Sydney FC’s 3-0 win over Wellington Phoenix.

beyondblue is working to reduce the impact of anxiety, depression and suicide in the community by raising awareness and understanding, empowering people to seek help, and supporting recovery, management and resilience.

Football United is a world leader in using football for social development. Football United aims to build capacity of communities and improve the skills of people in diverse areas that includes high proportions of refugee, migrant and Aboriginal Australian children, youth and families.

Beechwood would like to once again thank Jacques Faty and Shane Smeltz for their outstanding performances and celebrations against the Phoenix and kicking off this great initiative.